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The song "The Twist" started life as the B-side of a single released by Hank Ballard & The Midnighters in 1958. "Tear Drops On Your Letter" was the A-side, in case you were wondering.

In 1959, an 18-year-old singer from South Philadelphia named Ernest Evans put a relentlessly upbeat, wholesome spin on Ballard's slightly naughty tune under the stage name of Chubby Checker. It shot to No. 1 and stayed on the charts for 15 weeks in 1960. In 1961, it re-entered the charts and returned to the No. 1 slot, making it the only single to have two stays at the top rung more than one year apart.

The dance called The Twist, which Checker popularized on TV shows such as "American Bandstand" became a pop-cult phenomenon as celebrities such as Elizabeth Taylor, Rudolph Nureyev and Mary Tyler Moore did The Twist for the cameras. It quickly surpassed the Jitterbug and the Charleston in terms of mass popularity. Everyone from Sam Cooke to Petula Clark to The Fat Boys have recorded their own Twist tunes.

Checker scored another No. 1 record about a dance called "Pony Time," but his name is synonymous with "The Twist," which explains why he appeared in two films that capitalized on the Twist craze, "Twist Around the Clock" (1961) and "Don't Knock the Twist" (1962).

"I think it ('The Twist') is bigger than me, it really is," Checker told the Backstage Pass website earlier this month. "We brought a style to the dance floor that has never left."

You can bet that Checker, 73, will be swiveling his hips to the beat when he appears as the headliner for the annual, family-friendly Downtown New Year's Eve celebration that kicks off at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in and around Kleman Plaza. It's free and open to the public.

The musical entertainment includes a performance by the country-tinged The Michael Miller Band, The U.S. Stones (a Rolling Stones tribute band) and Tallahassee singer-songwriter Colleen Nixon, who wowed the crowd of 15,000 at last year's New Year's Eve bash with her version of "Auld Lang Syne."

"She was so good last year, and everyone liked her so much, that we brought her back and gave her her own set this year," said Curt Reilly, who is president of Tallahassee New Year's Eve, Inc.

All the downtown parking garages, expect for the Kleman Plaza Parking Garage, are free on Wednesday night. If you would like to avoid the parking hassles completely, Star Metro is running free shuttle buses between the Governors Square Mall (by Sears wing) and Kleman Plaza starting at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.

The night, of course, will be capped off by fireworks at midnight.

While Checker's string of dance-driven hits such as "The Fly," "Slow Twistin'," "Limbo Rock" and "Dance The Mess Around" came to end as the British Invasion bands took over the American charts, the upbeat Checker has remained a draw while touring nightclubs, festivals and casinos over the decades. Along the way, he also married Catharina Lodder, who was Miss World in 1962.

Checker made international headliners in 2013 when he sued Hewlett-Packard Co. for selling a software app called "The Chubby Checker," which alleged let women estimate the size of a male genitals based on the subject's shoe size. The real Chubby Checker did not find it amusing. In July 2014, Checker settled the lawsuit with HP, which agreed not to make future use of the name.

It was not revealed to the public if HP had to cough up money to Checker for putting an unfortunate twist, if you will, on his name.

As we dance our way into 2015, let's take a look around at some of the other musical happenings that are going on as the old year is going out:

THE COLONEL RETURNS: Take a trip through Southern blues, spacey jazz and straight-up funk when Col. Bruce Hampton returns with his new band, The Madrid Express, for a big Boxing Day show at 9 p.m. Friday at the Bradfordville Blues Club, 7152 Moses Lane. Tickets are $18 in advance and $23 on the day of the concert. Visit www.bradfordvilleblues.com.

The musically eccentric and adventurous Hampton, who hails from Atlanta, is an influential figure who has served as a mentor to such younger musicians as Tallahassee's own guitar whiz Rick Lollar and slide-guitar master Derek Trucks.

"I definitely think he's the father of whatever quote-unquote jam band or alternative scene that there is," Trucks said in the 2012 music documentary "Basically Frightening: The Musical Madness of Colonel Bruce Hampton."

Trucks is right. Hampton, 67, first cut his musical teeth during the psychedelic days in the '60s with the Hampton Grease Band. The group's 1971 album, "Music to Eat," became the second-worst selling album in Columbia Records history, right behind an album of yoga instructions. Hampton was a little ahead of his time but he kept following his own oddball path.

By the '90s, though, other musicians caught on to his unorthodox improvisations and fearless genre-jumping. Hampton's other acolytes include Susan Tedeschi, Dave Matthews, Phish, Oteil Burbridge and the 25 or so members of the jam band Widespread Panic.

"He put his own eccentric spin on blues, gospel and funk," Lollar said in 2013 before a gig at the Bradfordville Blues Club. "It's all danceable .... everything from Bobby Bland to James Brown to Son House to Sun Ra."

HELP OUT THE SEA LIFE: Party for a cause when Revival Railroad, Big Poppa and the Shuffle Brothers, Fried Turkeys and Catfish Alliance provide the rug-cutting tunes during the Seventh Annual Robby's Reef Fun'raiser starting at 6 p.m. Friday at the American Legion Hall on Lake Ella. Admission is $15 per person or $20 per couple at the door. The money raised will go to enhance and maintain Robby's Reef, which is a fish and crab habitat 16 miles out in the Gulf near Turkey Point and St. Teresa.

The reef is named in honor of Robby Redding, who was 18 when he lost control of his speeding 1997 Toyota 4-Runner on Alligator Point Road one day in 2000. The car flipped several times, killing passenger Dale Pullen. No one was wearing a seat belt. Redding suffered a severe spinal cord injury and was left paralyzed. He died in 2008. Rather than remain in grief, Redding's family and friends decided to do something positive in his memory, thus the reef. Redding would have turned 33 this weekend.

Please wear you seat belt as you are making the rounds to your Boxing Day and New Year's Eve parties.

NEIL DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH: Catch a rare glimpse of the band Apocalypse Now — which mostly plays revved-up, slightly psychotic versions of songs by Neil Diamond — during at raucous show at 10 p.m. Saturday at The Liberty Bar & Restaurant, 1307 N. Monroe St. Dreadship is also on the bill. The cover is $5 at the door.

Apocalypse Now, which was formed in 1992, features the intense and intensely entertaining lead singer, Chris Fabian, who literally throws himself into such Diamond classics as "Coming to America" and "Sweet Caroline." Fabian is not afraid to take a flying flip off the stage.

"The band only comes into existence sporadically, but we are planning a few shows in Georgia over the next year," Fabian said.

The long stretches between show are probably because it takes Fabian a few years to heal after every performance. Apocalypse Now also stars some fine musical talent with members who have played in such legendary Tallahassee groups as Syrup, Magic Juan and Insect Fear. Shine on, you crazy Diamond tribute band.

HANGIN' WITH LANGTRY: Guitarist-singer Patrick McKinney, who has toured with Iron & Wine, will bring his band Langtry out for the holidays to play a mix of gypsy jazz, Arvo Part and dreamy soundtrack music between 8 and 10 p.m. Saturday at Waterworks, corner of Beard Street and Thomasville Road in Midtown. There is a $5 cover at the door.

MAY YOUR HOLIDAY BE BRIGHTSIDE: The band Brightside is celebrating the release of its new CD, "Feels Like Fiction," during a party and show starting at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Pug's Live, 926 W. Tharpe St. The bill also includes Forsythe, 4:35 On A Thursday and The Alternate Ending. Tickets are $5 advance; $7 (over 21) and $9 (under 21) at the door. It's an all-ages show.

DAVID LAREAU JUST FOR YOU: Hear a slew of original rock songs when David Lareau and The Copperpots presents its "Holiday Extravaganza" at 10 p.m. Saturday at RedRocks, 654 W. Tennessee St. Tickets are $5 (18-20) and $3 (21 and older).

Judging from a recent show by Lareau and the 'Pots, the band is writing solid rock songs these days that wouldn't sound out of place on albums by Bruce Springsteen or Steve Earle.

HOIST THE HARPOON: Dance the night away when the Swingin' Harpoon & Friends' collective presents the Eighth Annual Almost New Year's Eve Show at 10 p.m. Saturday at the Bradfordville Blues Club, 7152 Moses Lane. Tickets are $15 advance and $18 at the door. Visit www.bradfordvilleblues.com.

HOMETOWN HERO RETURNS: Singer-songwriter John Kurzweg, who is also a studio producer who has worked with such acts as Creed and Puddle of Mudd, will join his old friends Dale Shumate and Terry Clark from their band Radio Bikini for "An Evening With John Kurzweg" at 7 p.m. Saturday at The Moon, 1105 E. Lafayette St. Kurzweg, who now lives in New Mexico, is back in his hometown for the holidays. Tickets are $10. Call 878-6900 or visit www.moonevents.com.

Kurzweg will open the show with some of his more recent songs before moving on to a few cover songs. Bruce Jones, who used to work the sound boards for the recently departed Joe Cocker, is mixing the sound for the Kurzweg gig.

OTHER NEW YEAR'S OPTIONS: If you don't feel like fighting the crowds on Kleman Plaza on New Year's Eve, here are a few other options to consider .... The Mae West Band will heat things up starting at 9 p.m. on Wednesday at Dux Liquors & Decoy Lounge, 3332 Crawfordville Highway. It costs $8 per person or $15 per couple at the door. ... Tallahassee's venerable Tom and the Cats brings the New Year's cheer at 9:15 p.m. Wednesday at the Corner Pocket Bar & Grill, 2475 Apalachee Parkway. It's $10 at the door. ... Urban Soul takes over the musical duties during the classy bash at 9 p.m. Wednesday at Level 8 Lounge atop the Hotel Duval in downtown Tallahassee. It's $30 per person and that includes an unlimited champagne bar. The terrace at the Level 8 also offers a commanding view of the fireworks display on Kleman Plaza at midnight. ... If you feel getting a little more downhome, bluesy and beachy for 2015, the Wailin' Wolves Band takes charge at 9 p.m. Wednesday at Harry's Bar, 306 Marine St. in Carrabelle. There is no cover.